1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to an accessory retractable front leg for a tripod stepladder, in particular, a replacement leg which allows the tripod stepladder to be used in a conventional manner wherein the front and rear legs are located on the same surface or in an unconventional manner wherein the front leg is located on a raised surface above a second surface whereupon the rear legs are supported.
2. Description of Prior Art
The invention has special relevance for use on stairs. Often electricians, painters and drywallers must do work above staircases. The tripod stepladder, as designed, is used only on flat surfaces.
Stepladders with telescopic front legs are available. U.S. Pat. No. 359,716 (Diltx), U.S. Pat. No. 1,312,725 (Gagnier), U.S. Pat. No. 2,200,535 (Brewer), U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,599 (McCrudden), U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,990 (Markovic) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,898 (Clark) all relate to ladders which use telescopic legs and are for use on stairs. These devices, however, do not adapt to the standard tripod stepladder. Furthermore, these devices are made to extend the ladder legs rather than retract the ladder legs. Also, the present invention eliminates the need for timely modifications to the ladder before its use. The present invention can be permanently attached to the standard tripod stepladder in a minimal amount of time.
In accordance with the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable ladder leg which may be adapted to the user""s standard tripod stepladder in order to provide means for stabilizing the ladder on stairs.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the invention are to provide means for using the tripod stepladder on stairs. The xe2x80x9cStair-Stepper Ladder Legxe2x80x9d provides a one time modification for use and a fast, easy set up. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an accesory replacement leg which may be permanently installed on standard tripod stepladders in order to provide means for retracting the length of the front of the user""s ladder.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an accessory leg which may be permanently attached using the existing hardware from the standard tripod stepladder.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a hitchpin whereby the leg can be retracted to varying lengths and locked into place.
These and other objects of the invention, as described herein, are achieved by providing an actual ladder leg comprised of an outer sleeve member having incremental penetrations and an inner sleeve member having incremental penetrations which fits inside said outer sleeve member and telescopically moves in and out of said outer sleeve member and locks into place with a hitchpin when incremental penetrations are aligned. The ladder leg assembly may be permanently attached to the user""s tripod stepladder after removal of the original front leg using the ladders existing hardware (i.e. internal spreaders, upper brace, u bolt attachment and, through bolt, etc . . . ).